Picking Up The Pieces
by carelessfreedom
Summary: After the war, Hermione brings along Harry and Ron to Austrailia to find her parents. It's harder than she thinks. Ron tries to help her. Please R&R! Side note: I do not own Harry Potter. Obviously.
1. Chapter 1

Synopsis: This is my take on what happened when Hermione went to go find her parents in Australia. It takes place about three or four months after the war, and Harry and Ron go with her as well.

Taking in a deep, shaky breath, Hermione placed her feet onto the cracked pavement, under the awning. That left her staring down the paint-chipped door, the brass knocker mocking her.

_Just do it_,she told herself, raising her curled fist to the door. She knocked. And then she waited.

It seemed like an eternity, but then finally she could hear the footsteps quickening towards the door.

_Oh, bugger. I can't do this. _

But before she could turn around and run like hell, the door opened, and there she stood-her mother, looking more beautiful than Hermione could ever remember. Her brown hair was twisted away, out of her face, and her green eyes sparkled like emeralds.

Hermione let out a breath she wasn't even aware she'd been holding.

"Hey, mum." she said breathlessly, taking a step forward onto the threshold.

"Excuse me?" the woman said, giving her a confused look and taking an alarmed step back.

"I-I mean, ma'am. Um, I uh, I found your mail." Hermione choked out, her heart breaking with each word. _She doesn't even remember. _

"My...mail?" the woman asked, even more confused than before.

"Yes, um, it was blowing away in the street, you see, so I thought I'd bring it up here to your house so it wouldn't blow everywhere."

"Oh, that was very kind of you. Thank you, dear." And with that she took the envelopes from her hand, and shut the door in Hermione's face.

At first, Hermione just stood there, looking at the chipped paint as if that would magically make her mother appear again.

"How could I have been so stupid?" she asked herself, turning down the walkway and trudging back towards the city. What was she thinking? That just because Harry defeated Voldemort that the memory charm would've been lifted? That upon seeing her, her mother's memory would've come flooding back instantaneously?

_This entire Australia trip is a waste_, she thought to herself. _I've dragged my two best friends here for something I was stupid enough to believe could be fixed. _

She sat down on the side walk at the end of the street and put her face in her hands, and cried. And in that instant, she hated herself. She hated herself for being weak, she hated herself for crying on the sidewalk, hated herself for actually thinking this could work. But most of all, she hated herself because for the first time in her life, she didn't know how to fix the problem in front of her. She wanted to be alone, alone with one person who would let her cry into his shoulder.

Ron was pacing; back and forth, and back and forth around the lobby of the hotel. He stopped in the middle of the room and looked at the gargantuan clock for the umpteenth time. 3:48. Hermione had said she would be back at 3:10. Where was she?

They were staying at some Muggle hotel. Hermione had insisted, saying that it would be easier for them instead of staying in the Wizarding World, where everyone would want to know their whereabouts every second of the day. Harry was out doing something. Ron hadn't been really listening when he'd told him. He'd been too busy worrying about Hermione.

He began scanning the room when he saw her. She had her head down and she was slowly walking towards the elevators, most likely going up to their room. Ron could tell that she was upset just by the way she was standing. Hermione had her arms crossed tightly across her chest, and she was biting her lip; she only did that when she was upset, or when Ron was upsetting her. He wanted nothing more than to hug her in that moment and tell her it was all going to be OK.

"Hermione!" he called across the lobby. She looked up at him. Her eyes were red from crying, and she quickly looked down and got into the elevator, shutting the doors before he could reach her.

"Damn." He muttered to himself. He walked back around the lobby and into a deserted hallway where he Disapparated inside their hotel room.

Just as he had predicted, he beat Hermione there by several minutes. Whenever he heard the lock click open, he jumped off the bed and opened the door before she had a chance.

She jumped slightly at the sight of him, and her face got that look that she always gave him when she was annoyed with him. He loved that look.

"How the bloody hell did you get here so fast?" she asked him, looking up into his eyes.

"I Disapparated in a hallway," he said matter-of-factly.

"Why didn't I think of-of course, just one more thing that I couldn't think of today," she cried, throwing her hands up in the air as if surrendering. And then, much to Ron's dismay, she started crying. It broke his heart into a hundred pieces, not only seeing her cry, but because he thought he had caused her to cry…_again._

"Hey," he said, pulling her into his arms. "It's okay." She buried her face into his chest and cried. Ron stood there, whispering soothing things into her ear and stroking her hair. "It's going to be okay. I promise." But he just let her cry.

_She'll tell me when she wants me to know._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Harry was late. He had been walking around downtown aimlessly when he'd received the panicked Patronus from Ron telling him to meet Ron and Hermione at some restaurant over by their hotel. Harry happily obliged; he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and he was starved.

He pushed open the door to the diner and scanned the overly crowded restaurant. Ron and Hermione were pressed together in a booth towards the back, their heads bent together, whispering.

"Hey," he said casually, sitting down opposite his two best friends. "What's wrong?" he asked when he saw Hermione's red eyes and tear stained face.

"It's her parents," Ron explained. He told Harry the whole story, occasionally sneaking furtive glances at Hermione, whose eyes never left the Formica table top.

Harry was silent for quite some time. He knew firsthand what it was like to lose your parents. It broke his heart to see Hermione so distraught.

"Hermione," he said, covering his hand with hers, "It's going to be fine. You're the smartest person I've ever met. We'll think of something, okay?"

Hermione's nod was almost imperceptible. "It's just—I don't even know the counter spell. I feel like a complete failure. I don't even think there is one," she said, new tears forming in her eyes.

"But there has to be!" Ron said indignantly. No one said anything, because there was nothing else to say. If Hermione didn't know how to fix the problem, then none of them did.

When the waiter brought their food, Hermione didn't even touch hers. Harry knew by just looking at her that the gears in her head were already turning, and by tomorrow morning she would have a plan figured out.

After dinner, the three of them started walking back towards the hotel. Ron and Hermione were in front of Harry holding hands, which made his heart tug. He missed Ginny terribly, but she had a lot of things to take care of back at home and knew she needed some time to think and mourn for her brother.

Suddenly, Hermione stopped.

"What? What is it?" Ron asked nervously, his hands on both of her shoulders.

"It's—it's nothing," Hermione insisted, taking Ron's hand again and continuing to walk down the street. Ron gave Harry a quizzical look but Harry just shrugged as if to say _How am I supposed to know what goes on in that head of hers?_

The trio walked the rest of the way back to the hotel in silence. Harry was daydreaming about Ginny, Ron was worrying about Hermione, and Hermione was thinking of how to get her parents back.

**I know kind of a short chapter and a semi-cliffhanger but I couldn't help myself! I can't believe the response this story has gotten already. This is my first one and I'm so glad you all like it! Don't worry, there will be more to come!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

The next morning, Harry and Ron got up for breakfast, but Hermione was nowhere to be found.

"The library," Harry and Ron said simultaneously. It was so typical of Hermione.

"Dunno what she'll find there. It's a Muggle library," Ron said, piling on bacon and hash browns onto his plate.

The two ate in silence; the familiarity of being alone settled comfortably between them. Harry was pleased that his two best friends were finally happy—and together.

"So," Harry said between mouthfuls of toast, "what do we do now?"

Ron just shrugged. "Dunno. We could just walk around and see if there's anything to do. We can't do much if Hermione's not here," he said sheepishly.

So the two went sightseeing; they walked up and down the streets and Harry introduced Ron to some pretty interesting Muggle shops. None of it compared to Diagon Alley though, which made both of the boys a little bit homesick. There weren't any chocolate frogs in the candy shops, and the books in the bookstore didn't magically replace themselves. (Ron figured this out firsthand, when the manager of the shop started yelling at him because he had stacked a huge pile of books out in the middle of the store. How was he supposed to know that the books wouldn't replace themselves?)

The best store so far, was the record store. Ron was enjoying himself almost a little too much. Harry was in the store across the street, probably looking for something to buy for Ginny, when he heard it.

"Yeah, the Mudblood's parents are supposed to be here. In this town," snarled a gruff voice. A chill instantly crept down Ron's back. A normal Muggle wouldn't use a word like 'Mudblood.' And something told Ron that not very many Muggle-borns had shipped their parents to Australia to protect them.

"Do you have any idea where they're staying? She's here with Potter and that Weasley boy," said another voice. Ron felt his stomach curdle. This was not good.

He silently slid the record he had been looking at back into the bin, and tried to locate the voices by ear.

"I saw them the other day at the diner. I followed them for a while, but the Mudblood saw me, I think."

"You _think_?" hissed the gruff voice, "you idiot!" There was a _whack!_ followed by a string of curses that would've had Mrs. Weasley in tears. "You're lucky we haven't been found out yet! It's only a matter of time."

Finally, Ron located the aisle across from the two men, and as stealthily as possible, tried to get a good look at them. One was a tall, skinny man, who was rubbing his head, so Ron assumed this was the man who had supposedly been following them last night. He was at least two-feet taller than his partner, who was short and squatty and didn't match the sound of his voice. Ron would've laughed if this had been any other situation than what it was. Surprisingly, for two wizards, they were blending in well to the Muggle world. They looked almost normal.

"She didn't! I thought she was going to turn around, but they just kept walking," hissed Skinny.

"Good. The last thing we need is to be discovered. That would ruin the whole plan."

_Plan?_ Ron was shaking. This was not good at all. What did they want with Hermione's parents? Suddenly, Ron had a horrible thought, and without any further spying, raced out of the record store and down the street. He was so wrapped up in his own head, he didn't even see Harry, or who he was talking to.

"Whoa, Ron, watch where you're going." Harry said steadying his friend back onto the sidewalk. "Look who I found!" he said, stepping aside to reveal Hermione.

She was smiling that beautiful smile that normally made Ron go weak in the knees, but now just made him sick to his stomach.

"Hermione, I have to tell you something." Ron said gravely.

"Me first! I was at the library and I found something…" she said. Ron could tell it was good because she was acting like she was about to burst if she didn't tell him soon.

"No, Hermione, this is important. These two men—"

"It can wait Ron! I was sitting in the library trying to think. I brought along some spell books to help me and I found—"

"Hermione, I'm serious. I have to tell you both something." He said even more forcefully.

"And I do too!" Hermione shot back. Her eyes flared with such ferocity that Ron took a step back. "Not everything you say has to come first. I have something to tell you and I'm going to tell you now."

"Fine. What is it? If it's so important that you can't wait five seconds, what is it?" Ron demanded. He was angry that Hermione was being so stubborn. He was afraid that those two men were going to harm someone in her family—and he thought it might be her. He had to warn both of them and she wasn't even listening!

"I know how to get my parents back," she said brightly, squeezing Ron's hand.

_I was afraid of that. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

**I know I suck about updating :P I'm sorry! But I'm making it up to you now, OK?:)**

Hermione was annoyed. Particularly at a certain red-headed boy who was being completely inconsiderate at the moment. What was his problem? She knew he could be a complete moron sometimes but clearly, something was bothering him.

"OK, Ron, since what you have to say is _so_ important, what is it?"

Ron stared at her blankly. "It's—it's nothing," he stuttered.

She glared at him. _Nothing?_ What the hell was his problem?

"Nothing," she repeated slowly, raising an eyebrow, "You're sure?"

Ron nodded, purposefully not meeting her eyes. "Yep, I'm sure."

She looked over at Harry, who just shrugged.

"Okay then…well, tonight I'm going over to my parent's-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Ron said, "_tonight?_ Are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean, shouldn't you think this through?" He was babbling now, which Hermione knew wasn't a good sign. There was something he definitely wasn't telling her.

"Are you okay, Ron? There's something you're not telling me. I'm not an idiot," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ron looked behind him and gave out a sharp yelp. "C'mon, come with me." He grabbed Harry and Hermione by the arms and started dragging them down the street.

"Ron, what the hell are you doing?" Harry demanded. Ron's face had suddenly become very pale and his big hands were starting to get clammy. Ron chanced another look over his shoulder and started walking even faster. The two men from the record shop were close behind them and he didn't want them recognizing them in the middle of the street.

He shoved his two best friends into a convenient alleyway and made sure that he had lost the two stalkers.

"Okay, listen," he began, holding up his hands before either of his friends could say anything. "In the record store, there were these two guys and they were talking about us. They were particularly interested in you, Hermione. I think they're going to try and do something to your parents because they know you'd try and save them.

"Apparently they've been following us since we got here. They followed us last night while we were at the diner."

Harry's mouth had dropped open in astonishment while Hermione had gone very pale.

"Do you think they're Death Eaters?" Harry asked quietly.

"Dunno," Ron said, "But they're definitely wizards."

"Oh my God," Hermione whispered. Her legs fell out from beneath her and she slid down the length of the wall until she was sitting on the ground.

_This cannot be happening. He's lying._ She started trembling against the wall and her breathing was shallower.

"What do they want with my parents?" she managed to choke out. "Or _me?_" Just the thought of Death Eaters wanting something to do with her made her skin crawl and her blood run cold in her veins.

Ron just shook his head. "I've no idea what they're planning."

The trio just stood there, soaking in the information that Ron had bestowed.

"We have to do something," Harry stated.

Hermione bit her tongue so she wouldn't make a smart-ass comeback at Harry's remark. Obviously they had to do something! Her parents were in danger.

"Well, sitting here won't get anything done," Hermione said, standing up and brushing herself off. "Either we go tonight to get my parents and get out of here before those guys notice, or we fight them off ourselves and make sure they won't follow us anymore."

"It's up to you Hermione, they're your parents," Harry said.

Ron nodded in agreement.

Hermione could see gaping holes in both plans. If they went tonight, the two men could easily follow them back to the hotel and stop them on the way to her parent's house once they figured out what was going on. Even if that didn't happen, they could easily follow them back to London.

On the other hand, if they waited to help her parents, those slugs could have already thought of something to hurt them.

"I don't want to wait, but I don't want to blow our cover either," Hermione explained. "We could lay a false trail, but I'm afraid they'll figure it out before we can successfully get my parents to safety."

"What if we bring in help?" Ron suggested. "That way, if we set up a false trail and they figure it out, someone's waiting to catch them?"

"That's brilliant, Ron!" Hermione said, beaming.

"Yeah, I like it," Harry agreed, "We'll have to be really careful, though."

"Alright," Ron said, lowering his voice, "I say we go back to the hotel. I want you to see these guys, to see that they really are following us. Once we get back there, we can plan."

Harry and Hermione nodded. Ron poked his head around both sides of the wall and skimmed both sides of the street before motioning for the other two to follow.

"Alright, let's go."

**Okay, so what'd you think? It's getting a little more intense, huh? Thank you so much for the reviews and to everyone supporting this story! I'm grateful to anyone who's reviewed this and read it and enjoyed it, of course! If you want me to try something new or a new story plot, whatever just let me know. Thanks for all of the support! You rock:) **


	5. Chapter 5

The plan was all set. The trio had spent three days planning how to safely retrieve Hermione's parents, all the while keeping an eye on the two creeps who had continued to stalk them. Nightfall blanketed the bustling streets of their Australian city, and Hermione was standing in front of her parent's house, alone.

_Funny how things come full circle, _she thought. The summer humidity had spiked over the past couple of days, and it seemed to press down onto her, threatening to burst at any second. She took a deep, shaky breath and looked behind her. Harry and Ron were hidden a few streets down.

"Okay, you can do this," she reassured herself. After all, if there was any trouble, all she had to do was send up red sparks from her wand. And there was definitely trouble to be anticipated. She could feel it, something just wasn't right.

She willed her feet forward, stepping gingerly across the carefully manicured garden, up to the front door.

"_Alohomora,_" she whispered. A cold rush of air greeted her as the door creaked open, causing goose bumps to rise all over her arms. As pleasant as the air conditioning was, there was something amiss in the house. Hermione walked cautiously over the threshold, all the while keeping her wand lit and in front of her. Shutting the door as quietly as she could, she swept her wand across the room. Everything seemed to be in place. The magazines were spread out neatly on the coffee table and the couches and chairs were free of any lint or dirt.

She blew some stray hairs out of her face and started towards the stairs. The only sound that she could hear was the sound of her breathing, which was hitched and labored. Her heart was beating so fast, she swore it would eventually burst forth from her chest. As she reached the top of the stairs, she examined the second floor. She cocked her head to the side, confused. Again, everything was in place, but there was an obvious sense that something was wrong.

Hermione readied herself as she approached her parent's room. Every particle in her body was screaming at her to turn around and run as fast as she could, but she ignored it. It was only nerves, she told herself. She gripped the brass knob in a sweaty hand and turned.

Something rustled in the corner, and Hermione whipped around, wand at the ready, and screamed. And then everything went black.

"What's taking her so long?" Ron questioned for the millionth time. He and Harry had traveled the two blocks down to the Granger's house and were now standing in front of it. "And where's the Order? If these blokes are "retired" Death Eaters, shouldn't they be here by now? This is important!"

Harry just rolled his eyes. Leave it to Ron to start worrying once Hermione was gone.

"Ron, she's fine. Hermione knows that if anything happens to send up red sparks. And I'm sure some of the Order will be here soon, just calm down."

Ron just sighed and kicked a good-sized rock at the lamp post.

"Ouch! Watch it, Weasley!" the lamp post hissed. Harry whirled around and was shocked and very happy to see Kingsley Shacklebolt standing in the place of the lamp post.

Ron blushed a bright shade of red and stammered, "Sorry, sir. How did you do that?"

"Years of practice, my boy. I never thought it would come in handy. Guess I was wrong, eh?"

Harry just beamed. "Kingsley! Where's everyone else?"

Kingsley gestured all around the street, and sure enough, figures started forming out of the bushes and behind other houses until a good bunch of the Order of the Phoenix had gathered in front of the Granger household.

There was Kingsley, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Fleur, Dedalus Diggle, Hagrid, and Professor McGonagall.

There was a brief exchanging of greetings and hugs, but it was shattered by the piercing scream of Hermione coming from the Granger's house.

"Hermione!" Ron bellowed, as he raced to the front door and into the house. The Order wasted no time following him into the house and up the stairs.

Ron had kicked down the bedroom door, his wand thrust in front of him. Harry ran smack into him and went rigid when he realized why Ron hadn't taken any action.

The two men who had been following them were standing in the middle of the room. The tall, skinny one had his arm around Hermione's neck, and was brandishing a small, pointed knife.

_Not again, _Harry thought, a sense of dread washing over him.

"Nobody move," the fat man said. "Or the Mudblood dies."

The rest of the Order was frozen in the doorway of the room.

"What do you want with us?" Ron demanded. "Why are her parents so important to you?"

The corpulent man chuckled darkly. "You really think this is about her _parents_?"

"Well, I did. Until you chuckled like that." Ron said.

"You're a dolt, Weasley. We don't want her parents. We want you three."

"What for?" Harry asked, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, we are of no use to you. Voldemort is dead."

"You don't think we know that?" said the skinny man. "We know he's dead! We just want the satisfaction of killing you ourselves. We want you to suffer. We want you to watch each other die slow, painful deaths." He tightened his grip on Hermione's neck, causing her to yelp. Ron pitched himself forward angrily.

"Let. Go. Of her." He hissed.

Skinny just laughed. "Not a chance."

"Oh for God's sake! _Petrificus totalus!_" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's spells hit both men squarely in the chest, causing them both to crumple to the floor ungracefully.

"And they called my boy a dolt," Mrs. Weasley huffed, binding the two men together and towing them out the door. "I'll give you three some alone time to reverse the spell on your parents, dear." She said warmly, flooding the room with light and gently closing the door.

"Well," said Ron, "Those two weren't very bright at all."

"No kidding," said Hermione. "Bright enough to take me out, but thick enough to not defend themselves." She hugged Ron and Harry tightly. "Thank you."

Ron was blushing again and stammering. "Yeah, it was nothing really, I just—" He was interrupted by Hermione reaching up and kissing him lightly on the lips.

"Just shut up, Ron." She said, laughing.

Harry cleared his throat loudly. "Don't mean to break up this little get together, but aren't we forgetting something?"

Ron and Hermione both blushed and laughed nervously. "Oh, right," Hermione said.

She led them out of the bedroom and across the hallway, checking different rooms. "My parents weren't there," she explained, "They tricked me. They knew that I would go into the bedroom first to look for them."

They found Mr. and Mrs. Granger under a heavy sleeping spell, inside one of the bathrooms.

The three of them propped them up against the bathtub, as Hermione readied her wand. Her hand was shaking so badly and her stomach was performing back flips.

"Here," Ron said quietly, taking out his own wand, "let me."

She looked at him gratefully and left the room. She slid down the length of the wall and tried to compose herself. She didn't know why she was acting this way.

_Yes you do, you're afraid that the spell won't work and your parents will never remember you. _

She was almost one hundred percent positive that the spell was going to work, but there was this nagging doubt in the back of her mind that kept telling her it wouldn't. She had placed the spell on her parents to protect them in the first place, because she was certain that she would never see them again. But now she had a second chance to fix things and get things back to the way that they used to be. But after everything that she'd been through, could things ever go back to normal?

She still imagining the worst-case scenario in her head, when Ron poked his head through the door.

"Hermione," he said, beaming, "there's someone in here who wants to see you."

**So what did you think of the big climax? I tried not to make it all about the two creepers because ultimately, the story was about getting Hermione's parents back. I will probably post one last chapter after this, just to wrap things up. Thank you to all who have reviewed and favorited this story! Your support means the world to me:)**


End file.
